Sox Notes: Ellsbury gone; Youk, Papi ailing; Oki All Star

Sox ship speedy outfielder Ellsbury back to AAA
It was a move that shouldn't have come as a surprise surprise--the Sox are set in the outfield and need to carry an extra arm, not a fifth fielder--but the news of Jacoby Ellsbury's sudden demotion still saddened all corners of the Nation.

In his brief cameo with the parent club the 23-year-old Native American went 6-16 with a double, three runs and RBI a stolen base and one memorable trip around the bases when he scored from second on a wild pitch against the Rangers on Monday.

But instead of mourning the departure of the energetic, young, heady, exciting, and did I mention lightning quick? kid, let's stop and ponder the thought of him owning the centerfield expanse at Fenway for decades to come, a superior talent in the mold of a Rocco Baldelli at the plate and Coco in the field who will have come through the Sox system, not some mercenary who skips from team to team for the highest dollar (ahem Judas Demon.)

When Ellsbury is paired with current PawSox and future Bosox teammates David Murphy and Brandon Moss, and the Sox will have a solid combination of speedy & powerful outfielders for many years to come.

Plus Jacoby ensured himself of a September callup with his excellent showing in his brief six game stint.

Still, it's sad to see all that speed exit the building.

Youk misses 2nd straight game, while Papi's power is kaput
Kevin Youkilis missed his second consecutive game last night and third in the last four with what is being described as a left quad strain, and although he has said he can pinch hit and Francona has not ruled him out for the Tigers series, don't be surprised if the ultra-cautious Sox let him rest the nagging injury through the break, which would give him nearly a full week off without having to risk a trip to the DL.

David Ortiz, meanwhile, has been nursing bad hamstrings for a couple of weeks, and from the way he was limping around the bases in the Rays series and the fact that his double yesterday was his first extra base hit in 12 games and he hasn't homered in his last 14 contests, it doesn't take Stephen Hawking to figure out that Big Papi is hurting, probably more than he is letting on.

No word, or even a mention, of him sitting out the Midsummer Classic, though. Think of him as the anti-Manny in that regard.

Okajima named as fan's pick to be the Sox 6th All Star in 2007
Not that this should come as a surprise since a Boston player has won this vote in three of the last six elections, but Hideki Okajima, Boston's fortunate free agent Far East find, beat out four other competitors and will join the other five Sox All Stars in San Francisco Tuesday night.

In a fast & furious finish Oki edged out Minnesota's Pat Listash, LA of Anaheim's Kelvim Escobar, Toronto's Roy Halladay and Jeremy Bonderman of the Tigers with 4.4 million votes cast for the superlative rookie.

The real surprise is that of the two Japanese pitchers Boston brought over here to shore up the staff for '07, not even Okajima's parents would have thought it would be him in the All Star game and not his higher profile and higher paid countryman, Daisuke Matsuzaka.

But that's what a microscopic ERA, surfer's mentality, head-turning (literally) delivery and a few million frantic voters can do for a guy.

In the NL Padres pitcher Chris Young (remember him?) won with a record setting 4.6 million votes, besting then Dodgers third baseman Nomar Garciaparra's 2006 record of 4.5 million. Judas Demon (2002) and Cap'n Tek (2003) were previous final vote winners for Boston.

So Oki will take his fiber-optic thin 0.88 ERA and his Nicole Ritchie-esque 0.78 WHIP along with his 37 Ks in 41 innings and whipsaw head motion to AT&T Park, a.k.a the House that Barry Built, and if the fans are lucky they might get to see what Boston fans witnessed a few weeks ago: Okajima fanning Bonds again.

Congrats, Oki, and let's hope one of the other pitchers drops out and Dice gets added to the roster, also.